Las Vegas: Words are not enough

After the worst mass shooting in US history, words like “thoughts and prayers” and “warm condolences” are just not enough! Sure, these words, as well as praise for the first responders, are comforting to those affected, especially the victims and their families.

But what happens next to help prevent future gun-related tragedies? Where can people gather anymore without fear they or those they love might not return home? Unless words are followed by action, there’s little hope that we won’t be back days or weeks from now asking the same questions, why and how?

After the tragedies of Columbine, Aurora, Sandy Hook, Charleston and Townville we saw communities come together in love with words of hope shared, but nothing much changed about the one common denominator of them all – guns and the ease with which these instruments of mass destruction were gotten – in most cases legally. Only in America can people so readily obtain firearms and then go do harm to others. In other developed countries, not nearly so much. Investigators, like those in Las Vegas, are often mystified as to the motive of the shooter, but not by the carnage they impose because of the instruments of war they mostly use.

So, why do we spend all the time and effort to try and understand the why, and not more time and effort trying to prevent similar tragedies?

What we’re already seeing, of course, are the loud voices on both sides heating up – one, against more gun regulations and the other, for more regulations and laws. After Sandy Hook, Congress tried to enact tougher background checks that over 90% of Americans approved, but the bill was defeated, with heavy opposition mounted by the NRA.

Now, after the Las Vegas tragedy we see some hope from both sides that some regulations, such as with the “bump stock” that turns a semi-automatic weapon into an automatic one. Whether this is a token move from the gun lobby and those in Congress getting huge contributions from the NRA, or whether it is real will be answered in the coming days.

What is real is that it IS time for politicians to act and listen to the majority of Americans when they say, “Enough is enough!": This isn’t about politics. It’s about people’s lives, especially those thousands affected by gun tragedies every year in this country. No more Vegas, no more Sandy Hook, no more Charleston, no more Aurora and no more Townville!

Jim Palmer is Emeritus Professor of Crop and Soil Environmental Science at Clemson University. He is a gun owner. Email him at: jhpalmer42@aol.com